Introduction
Across the globe there have been many stories of wolves attacking people - a rumor that gives these animals a bad name. Some people killed wolves because they were thought to prey upon animals that people depended upon for food.  Hunters didn't like to lose deer to wolves, and farmers didn't want their livestock eaten so they to felt obligated to dispose of the animal.  Then as people began to build  on the wolves' homes, they were trapped and shot until only a few remained. In this project we will be exploring documents (facts and figures), the political and economic implications of the grey wolf as presented by both sides.  We will be able to explore the issue of animal conservation from a variety of perspectives and construct an argument for or against the preservation of  this exciting creature.

Task
In this activity you will work in groups of  four to investigate the plight of the grey wolf. In particular you will focus on whether or not it is important for us to save the grey wolf from extinction.  Each member of the group will be assigned a role which holds a different perspective from other members of the group. You'll be given a few minutes to select a role from the envelope, and begin following the steps outlined in  the table and process section of this Web Quest.
 
 

Day One	The first part of the task requires each member to do some individual background research, and complete a web in Inspiration using the resources under their group role.
Day Two	Today your group should reassemble to share your essays and teach each other what you know.  At this point you will pair off with the group member  who has a perspective similar to your own, and begin to compose a persuasive writing piece that  convinces others to take on your point of view.
Day Three	Hello partners have you written your persuasive piece yet?  Did you remember to use the ACE strategy or your inspiration webs to guide your writing activity?  Today you should concentrate on creating your web page.
Presentation Day	Congratulations, you and your partner have become experts on one of the sides of the wolf debate.  It is time to share your work with the opposing side.  Before you do however, first use the content rubric to evaluate your persuasive piece.  Make sure your web page is up and running, and check your work against the web rubric.
Closing Question	Know that you have heard both sides of the problem  use the problem solving sheet to answer the Closing Question in paragraph form and submit it to the teacher.

 

Process
  1.  Choose a group of four students to work with.
  2. Decide upon the roles for the members of your group.
  3. Use the resources below to conduct an internet search
  4.  Create your web in Inspiration.
  5.  Set a time for the group to reunite and share their research.
  6.  Choose the person with a perspective similar to yours to be your partner.
  7. Work with your partner to write a persuasive essay using the ACE strategy.
  6.  Create a  web page to convince others to take on your point of view.
 

Evaluation
At the conclusion of the Web Quest the students will be evaluated with a rubric on how well they developed their persuasive essay which advocates for one side of the debate about the grey wolf .  The teacher will also use the web page rubric to assess the use of technology in this performance task. Partners from opposing sides will use a peer evaluation sheet to assess the content of  their inspiration webs, based on  how well they were able to orally communicate the problem  and solution from their point of view.  This feedback, along with the teacher's, determines the success of each student.
 

Conclusion
Upon completion of this activity the students will recognize that there can be many perspectives to a problem.  They will be able to compose detailed persuasive arguments both orally and in written form.  They will have been challenged to identify the problems on both sides of an issue.  Finally they will be equipped with the background skills to begin synthesizing all the information to design a thoughtful solution.